ACCEPTANCE Speech

I was so happy that DUSTIN LANCE BLACK won the Original Screenplay Oscar for MILK.  Also very happy for Sean Penn's win.  Both gave wonderful speeches.

Dustin's acceptance speech indeed was one of "acceptance."  He was extremely moving. 

By addressing gay and lesbian youth and telling them that God loves them, I believe he is a true inspiration and hero to SO many watching Sunday night. Just as he stated Harvey saved his life many years ago,  he is carrying on Milk's message and spirit.

Here is a video of him in the press room after.  Once again, eloquent words.

Bravo! 

Here is a link to a wonderful NPR interview with Mr. Black from last fall.

There is also a fantastic book about Harvey's life and about the making of the film.  I just ordered my copy!  It is available in hardcover and paperback.

DUSTIN LANCE BLACK'S moving Oscar Acceptance Speech - Transcript

Oh my God. This was, um. This was not an easy film to make. First off, I have to thank Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg and all the real-life people who shared their stories with me. And, um, Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco, and our entire cast, my producers, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, everyone at Groundswell and Focus, for taking on the challenge of telling this life-saving story. When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life, it gave me the hope to one day live my life openly as who I am and that maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married.

(He chokes up, audience begins to applaud.)

I want to thank my mom who has always loved me for who I am, even when there was pressure not to. But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he’d want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches or by the government or by their families that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights, federally, across this great nation of ours. (Wild applause from the audience.) Thank you, thank you, and thank you God for giving us Harvey Milk.

I'd like to thank the Academy....

...for putting on a GREAT show last night.

The whole show was classic glamour Hollywood.  This was evident from the beautiful crystal curtain to the charismatic host.  

There was also a very charming opening number (go Anne Hathaway!!!) 

On this video, the musical number starts at 1:45.

Hugh did a wonderful job.  I thought Laurence Marks and Bill Condon (the producers) put together a fantastic show.   

I absolutely loved the way they presented the acting nominees with 5 past winners each paying tribute to the nominees this year.  Very touching.

Also loved the way they presented the categories such as set design or makeup with the flatscreen tv's... very theatrical.  It made the whole night interesting to watch.

I even liked the MUSICALS ARE BACK medley.  It got a little random when they put in bits of HSM and MAMMA MIA at the end.  Although this medley wasn't as smooth as the opening number, it still had some nice moments.

I was very happy with all the winners especially DUSTIN LANCE BLACK for his Original Screenplay MILK.  

His powerful acceptance speech was the best moment of the night.  Much more about him in the next post.

Here is a brief list of upcoming DVD/BLU-RAY releases of last night's winners.  These, of course, are subject to change. 

March 10

MILK

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

April 7

DOUBT

April 21

FROST/NIXON

Already out

FROZEN RIVER

CHANGELING

THE VISITOR

No release date YET... (will probably be announced soon)

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

THE READER

THE WRESTLER

You can find a full list of last night's winners here.

We got SPIRIT yes we do...

The Independent Spirit Awards were yesterday.  THE WRESTLER was the big winner of the night.  After seeing clips of the other nominees, I really want to see WENDY AND LUCY!!!

Each year they do a song parody of the Best Feature nominees.

Here is Rainn Wilson in an ode to THE WRESTLER...

Here are all the parodies of the night.  This isn't the clearest video, but you get the idea.

AND... the ACADEMY AWARDS are just hours away.

The past couple of days I've caught up on most of the films....

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA - Penelope Cruz was amazing!

CHANGELING

FROZEN RIVER

and REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

They all were really good.

You can also find the short film nominees available on itunes.  I just watched TOYLAND and THIS WAY UP.

ENJOY the broadcast tonight.

These are not my predictions, but who I hope wins...

ACTOR, LEADING - Sean Penn MILK or Richard Jenkins THE VISTOR (also thought Leonardo really should have been nominated for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD) I'm over the praise for Mickey Rourke.  Yes, he was good in the film... but I liked the performances of Sean and Richard a lot more.

ACTOR, SUPPORTING - Heath Ledger THE DARK NIGHT will and should get it (thought Josh Brolin was really good too and loved the performances of James Franco and Emile Hirsch MILK and Brad Pitt BURN AFTER READING)

ACTRESS, LEADING - I'm torn between Kate Winslet and Anne Hathaway.  

Kate was really good in THE READER (and REVOLUTIONARY ROAD) and really deserves it for a great body of work the past few years.  However, I thought Anne was astounding in RACHEL GETTING MARRIED.  

I have many friends that did not like this movie or thought it was ok, but I LOVED it.  I thought Bill Irwin, Debra Winger, and the wonderful Rosemarie DeWitt should have received supporting nods, as well as the music (which is really an important element in the movie.) Finally, I really liked Sally Hawkins as leading actress in HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. 

ACTRESS, SUPPORTING - I thought Viola Davis gave an amazing raw performance in DOUBT, but I'm rooting for Penelope Cruz in VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA.

BEST PICTURE/DIRECTION - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is going to get both of these and it certainly deserves it.  It was a WONDERFUL film.  I am rooting that the equally extraordinary MILK takes home one of the prizes.  I also thought WALL-E should have been nominated for picture.

The nominee I'm really rooting for is Dustin Lance Black for Best Screenplay - MILK.  

Read about him HERE.

You can find a downloadable ballot here.

Got MILK?

One of my favorite films this year, MILK is the true story of Harvey Milk - the first openly gay elected politician in the United States.

Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Alison Pill, and the rest of the cast are wonderful.  It is nominated for 8 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor for Sean Penn.  More importantly, this is a story that feels very relevant today, as evident by the results of the past election.  

Here's the trailer.

There is also an amazing documentary called THE  TIMES OF HARVEY MILK.  Narrated by Harvey Fierstein, it won the Oscar for best documentary in 1985.  

You can watch this documentary (with commercial interruptions) for FREE here!

Nomination Celebration!

The Oscar Nominees for 2009 came out this week.  Here is a link for the full list.

Oscar Night may have some BIG surprises this year...

(just kidding... Jessica Simpson was NOT nominated! Also she did not win one for "The Dukes of Hazzard."  This is a lovely photoshopped pic that I found online.)

Each year I make it my mission to see as many of the nominated films as humanly possible.  My birthday is on Sunday.  To celebrate turning 31, birthday festivities will be seeing "3" movies on "1" day with loved ones... (also one on Saturday... but that doesn't sound cool with the 3-1 theme!)

I was pretty happy with the nominations.  I will post more after the "movie weekend" when I feel I am more "qualified" to make overall comments.

However, here are some thoughts after hearing the nominations....

1. So excited Richard Jenkins was nominated for best actor in "The Visior" - I really loved this movie and Richard (who is normally plays character roles) gave a wonderful touching performance.

2. So happy for Anne Hathaway for best actress nom in "Rachel Getting Married."  I'm seeing that and "The Reader" (Kate Winslet - best actress nom) this weekend.  Love both of these women.

3. LOVED Viola Davis in "Doubt."  She MADE the movie for me and was happy to see her best supporting actress nom.  Also glad the much deserving Mr. Ledger got one for "The Dark Knight"

4. So far my favorite 2 movies have been "Milk" and "Slumdog Millionaire."  I was very happy that both got a lot of Oscar love.  These are the 2 movies I would highly recommend seeing before Oscar night.

5. I was surprised "Revolutionary Road" got little Oscar love.

6. Very disappointed that Sally Hawkins didn't get a best actress nomination for "Happy Go Lucky" and that "Wall-E" did not receive one for Best Picture.  I would also like to have seen "Gran Torino" nominated for best song... if only to see Jamie Cullum performing on Oscar Night.

If you are wanting to go on an Oscar Nominee Viewing Spree.. here is a list of the movies nominated for more than one award and the number of nominations.  Oscar night is Sunday Feb 22nd, so get to work!!

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - 13 noms

"Slumdog Millionaire" - 10 noms

"The Dark Knight - 8 noms (out on dvd)

"Milk" - 8 noms

"WALL-E" - 6 noms (out on dvd)

"Doubt" - 5 noms

"Frost/Nixon" - 5 noms

"The Reader" - 5 noms

"Changeling" - 3 noms (out on dvd Feb 17)

"Revolutionary Road" - 3 noms

"The Duchess" - 2 noms (out on dvd)

"Frozen River" - 2 noms (out on dvd Feb 10)

"Iron Man" - 2 noms (out on dvd)

"Wanted" - 2 noms (out on dvd)

"The Wrestler" - 2 noms

the GLOBEY'S

Hope everyone enjoyed the Golden Globes on Sunday....

Here are my brief observations about the night.

The pre-show red carpet was a mess.  Nancy O'Dell would lump random combinations of people together who couldn't hear her questions because the crowd was screaming... and she KEPT asking people how they felt about Heath Ledger and if they thought he was going to win.  Maybe a crazy noisy awards show red carpet isn't the best platform to reflect on the tragedy of his untimely death.  

I love how (a badly groomed) Sting called her out a couple of times on her incorrect announcement that he was nominated for an award that evening.

The Golden Globes are always a lot of fun because you add the element of booze.  When the show started there was often the sound of a noisy crowd when someone was trying to talk.  It cracked me up how J-Lo, the first presenter, "shushed"  the crowd....  "Shh... Mama talking."

I also realized that Don Cheadle's resume will now include both "Hotel Rwanda" AND "Hotel for Dogs."  I can't wait for the DVD "Don Cheadle HOTEL Collection."

Eva Mendez looked a little like she just came from a performance as a napkin in Broadway's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! 

Ricky Gervais was (as always) brilliant

Best intro of the night that cracked me up... "Here are the stars of "Jonas Brothers. -  A 3-D Experience" ... The Jonas Brothers!"

Drew Barrimore and Jessica Lange acted a little like drunkin' lovers throughout the night.

 I am very nervously excited for their upcoming HBO film about "Grey Gardens."  "Grey Gardens" is a very favorite subject of mine.  Much more on this in a future post.

I was very happy for the wonderful Tiny Fey who told all her internet haters to "Suck It."

Also very happy for the amazing film "Slumdog Millionaire" and Kate Winslet - who won 2 awards!

La-hOVED Sally Hawkin's speech after winning best actress in a Musical/Comedy for "Happy Go Lucky."  

This is a wonderful film and a beautiful performance by her that hopefully will get more attention with current Oscar Buzz.  Here's the trailer.

And now... we await Oscar nominations which come out on January 22nd.  The Academy Awards will be broadcast on ABC on February 22nd at 8pm ET.

Besides "HAPPY GO LUCKY,"  here have been my favorite movies that have gotten some heavy duty Oscar Buzz.

- SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - A-MAZING... very inspiring movie and a wonderful love story

- MILK - a WONDERFUL very poignant film about a true american hero.  WONDERFUL performances all around. 

- WALL-E - an animated masterpiece

- DOUBT - loved Viola Davis

- THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - beautiful film - a great unconventional love story - amazing performance by Brad Pitt

- THE DARK KNIGHT - Heath Ledger steals the show... also loved Maggie Gyllenhaal

Here are the ones I have yet to see, but am very excited for...

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

FROST/NIXON

THE READER

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD

THE WRESTLER

Stay tuned for much much more Oscar talk!